The Internet is evolving from a human-centered connection network, in which a person generates and consumes information, to an Internet of Things (IoT) network, in which information is exchanged and processed between distributed components, such as objects. An Internet of Everything (IoE) technology, in which a big data processing technology through connection to a cloud server or the like is combined with an IoT technology, is also on the rise. Realization of IoT requires technical elements, such as a sensing technology, a wireless/wired communication and network infrastructure, a service interface technology, and a security technology, and thus recently, technologies for connecting things, such as a sensor network, machine-to-machine (M2M), and machine type communication (MTC), are being studied.
In an IoT environment, an Internet technology (IT) service that creates a new value for human life by collecting and analyzing data generated by connected things may be provided. The IoT may be applied to various fields, such as smart homes, smart buildings, smart cities, smart cars or connected cars, smart grids, healthcare, smart home appliances, and advanced medical care services, through convergence and integration of various industries and the existing information technology (IT).
In particular, devices perform data communication in the IoT environment. Generally, a transmitting device and a receiving device respectively transmits and receives encrypted data, and for the receiving device to decode the encrypted data, information about the transmitting device is required. Accordingly, during the data communication, the transmitting device provides the information about the transmitting device, such as an internet protocol (IP) address, to the receiving device. However, when the information is exposed, a third person may obtain a lot of personal information, such as about the transmitting device, the receiving device, and a communication frequency between the transmitting device and the receiving device, based on the information about the transmitting device, such as the IP address.
Accordingly, demand for technologies enabling only the receiving device, not the third device, to identify the transmitting device through the encrypted data is increasing.
Moreover, in the IoT environment, the transmitting device and the receiving device generate and exchange an encryption key for encrypted data communication. However, since it is common that the transmitting device and the receiving device generate an encryption key based on the same key data, a third device may be able to hack all data exchanged between the transmitting device and the receiving device by hacking one of the transmitting device and the receiving device.
Accordingly, demand for safe encryption key generating and exchanging technologies is increasing.